1. Eat better carbohydrates
It is no secret that all carbohydrates would impact your blood glucose levels. Therefore, you need to know all of the foods that contain this macro-nutrient. You should also select healthier foods that contain carbohydrates and keep in mind portion sizes.
Some excellent sources of healthy carbs include:
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Legumes such as beans, chickpeas etc.
- Whole grains such as oats, brown rice etc.
- Dairy such as milk, yoghurt that is unsweetened
Additionally, you should reduce your intake of foods that don’t have much fibre such as white rice, white bread etc. This means you should always read food labels so you can easily see which ones contain high fibre.
2. Consume less salt
When you eat foods with a lot of salt, this increases your chances of developing high blood pressure which can cause stroke and heart disease. If you have diabetes, this already increases your chances of developing these issues.
You should heavily limit how much salt you consume and this means only consuming up to 6g of salt per day. Keep in mind that a lot of pre-packaged foods already have salt in them so you should read the labels and select ones that have less salt. It is much better to cook your own food from scratch since this will allow you to personally reduce how much salt you consume. It is best to reduce salt and use various herbs and spices to add more flavour to your meals as opposed to using a lot of salt.
3. Consume less processed and red meat
When reducing your intake of carbs, you may eat more meat so that you can feel satiated. However, you should avoid doing this with red meat or processed meat. This means meats such as lamb, bacon, ham, beef, sausage etc. All of these meats are heavily linked to diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
It is best to eat the following foods instead of processed meats or red meat:
- Fish
- Chicken and turkey
- Pulses such as lentils and various types of beans
- Nuts
- Eggs
The good thing about lentils, beans and peas is that they contain a lot of fibre and they don’t have a big impact on your blood glucose levels. So, they are a fantastic food to eat instead of red meat or processed meat and they will make you feel full. Fish is also an excellent source of meat and in particular, mackerel and salmon. These are oily fish and they contain omega-3 oil which are excellent for protecting your heart. It is best that you eat about 2 portions of oily fish every week. As an addition, you might find it useful to know about the best insulin pumps in 2022.
4. Consume more vegetables and fruit
It is no secret that consuming vegetables and fruit are excellent for you. You should always eat these foods as snacks and at mealtimes. When you eat lots of fruits and vegetables, you will get the fibre, minerals and vitamins that are essential for a healthy body.
Now, you may be thinking that fruit has a lot of sugar and should be avoided. However, this isn’t true. Even if you have diabetes, it is still recommended that you eat the whole fruit. Even though they do have sugar, this is natural sugar. This type of sugar is quite different from added sugar that is prevalent in foods such as cakes, chocolate, cookies etc.
Other foods such as fruit juices also have a lot of added sugar. It is best to avoid these and consume real fruit instead. You can also eat dried, frozen or even tinned fruit in juice. It is recommended that you eat these throughout the day as oppose to eating all of your fruit at one time.
5. Select better fats
Fat is extremely important in your diet as it provides energy. However, there are different types and they all have different impacts on your health.
The healthiest fats that you can consume include sunflower oil, seeds, oily fish, nuts, grapeseed oil, olive oil etc. If you eat too much saturated fats, this would increase your blood cholesterol which is bad for your health since it can lead to heart problems.
